Today I have great pleasure in bringing an interview to you with SE Gilchrist. Suzanne is an Escape Publishing author buddy, who writes steamy science fiction. Thank you for being here today.
SE Gilchrist
Star Pirate’s Justice is your new SF romance novel out with Escape Publishing. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Set in Earth’s future, Star Pirate’s Justice is the second single title story about a group of women who volunteered to terra form a new earth only to find themselves ‘sold’ into ‘slavery’ in an alien world. Only the traders who sold them know the way back to Earth. And to make their lives more difficult there is a war going on for control of an amazing energy source which can not only be used to power intergalactic space travel but can be harnessed to form space/time travel vortexes. (I can hear my youngest son who studies physics yelling at me right about now!)
In this story, Carly is on a mission to find a Darkon warrior turned star pirate and return him to Darkos to face justice. She also believes the star pirate has gate way maps in his possession. But she arrests him at the moment when he is about to make a deal with a smuggler which will give him the evidence he needs to clear his name and reveal the identity of the true traitor. There’s space battles, bounty hunters and a ‘gun’ fight in a market place so this story has more ‘action’ than Legend Beyond the Stars.
Tell us about yourself.
I live in the Hunter Valley of NSW with my three adult children and two dogs and have recently added a rescue cat to our family. I was raised as a Novacastrian then spent quite a few years travelling, mainly around outback Australia. Like many, I’ve been writing off and on for like, forever, however have only taken my ‘muse’ seriously since 2008. My first publication was an erotic, post-apocalyptic short story, Paying the Forfeit, in the Hot Down Under series with Momentum Books on 1st Dec 2012. My next publication was with Escape Publishing, who released my single title and the first book in my sci fi romance series, Legend Beyond the Stars on 10th Jan 2013. Since then I’ve had two novellas published with Escape (also in the same series) and have indie published, two erotic historical/fantasy novellas, one erotic, post-apocalyptic novella and one sweet rural romance short novel. And now of course, Star Pirate’s Justice is out with Escape since 1st Feb 2014.
Tell us a bit about why you write SF romance?
I love it. I love the scope it provides, the ability to make up your own world with its own culture and laws. I love how it gives the opportunity to combine adventure action and romance all in the one package. I also love how a writer can explore controversial subjects, such as: climate change, cloning, genetic dna modelling etc. Plus I cant help myself where alpha warrior type heroes are concerned.
Star Pirate’s Justice is part of an epic saga. Are we going to see more of it in the future?
Definitely. The next single title (fingers crossed) may be out later this year, When Stars Collide. I also have another two novellas in the works (one is Elise’s story and the other introduces some new characters) and the first single title book in the follow on series when some of the women return to Earth, Beyond Aquarius, is also almost completed. Actually, Paying the Forfeit and Storm of Fire are set in this ‘new’ world.
What are you working on at the moment?
Two stories in my sci fi series (as per above) and another rural romance.
What is your writing process? (planner, panster, write every day, write sporadically, writers block etc).
I start with an idea, usually a situation or an event for example for Star Pirate’s Justice my idea was the search for the gate way maps to Earth and a traitor who has been framed. From there my characters evolve, still very much shadowy creatures in my mind. I usually write up to three to five chapters before I sit down and do a story outline and do a fairly indepth study on the characters’ world. I also do a lot of character background / history writing and sometimes I can get new ideas from working on their past that I add into the story. Working on their backstories also helps me with writers block. I would love to say I’m so disciplined I write every day but I’d be lying! I have a full time job and sometimes there is like zero creativity in me some nights. Any leave days and the weekends I try to squeeze in as many writing hours as I can manage.
What do you prefer drafting the story or revising and reworking?
Drafting the story is the bomb for me. I do a lot of revising and re-writing as I go so my first draft is usually fairly ‘clean’. Its a slower process but it works for me.
What part of writing do you find the hardest?
I would have to say writing the love / sex scenes in a fresh way. Sometimes I say ‘insert love scene in .X’s POV say 250 words’ and come back to it later.
What do you plan to work on next?
I have a list. (I know, so anal but I just love spreadsheets) So, after the stories referred to above, I’ve got a New Adult sci fi / futuristic novel I’m also keen to get out there and another fantasy erotic novella in my Bound series.
Thank you so much for your time today, Suzanne. Next interview I’m bringing on the boys!
Star Pirates Justice
Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing 